A Phoenix publication took to its Twitter account to explain the kind of person former Sheriff Joe Arpaio is following Donald Trump’s decision to pardon him. The former reality show star pardoned the racist former Sheriff of Maricopa County while a hurricane was barreling down on Texas. Trump is likely testing his pardoning powers to use that same privilege for the Russia investigation.
Joe Arpaio called himself “America’s toughest sheriff,” but appeared to be begging for a pardon after he was convicted of criminal contempt in July after violating a 2011 court order in a racial profiling case. Arpaio, 85, was ordered to stop profiling Latinos but he couldn’t stop himself.
Trump tweeted, “I am pleased to inform you that I have just granted a full Pardon to 85 year old American patriot Sheriff Joe Arpaio. He kept Arizona safe!” but the Phoenix New Times which has covered Arpaio for two decades reminded everyone that the former sheriff is no patriot.
We’ve been covering Joe Arpaio for more than 20 years. Here’s a couple of things you should know about him… 1/many
— PhoenixNewTimes (@phoenixnewtimes) August 26, 2017
Arpaio described his own jail as a ‘concentration camp.’
He ran a jail that he described as a “concentration camp.” https://t.co/5MNt2lxOyw
— PhoenixNewTimes (@phoenixnewtimes) August 26, 2017
Trump’s ‘patriot’ has blood all over his hands.
Prisoners there died at an alarming rate, often without explanation. https://t.co/wriqDix6EA
— PhoenixNewTimes (@phoenixnewtimes) August 26, 2017
Arpaio is a very cruel man.
One of his jailers nearly broke the neck of a paraplegic guy who had the temerity to ask for a catheter. https://t.co/eySbTTJFph
— PhoenixNewTimes (@phoenixnewtimes) August 26, 2017
One time, as a publicity stunt, he marched Latino prisoners into a segregated area with electric fencing. https://t.co/DYeyFUDhbD
— PhoenixNewTimes (@phoenixnewtimes) August 26, 2017
Here’s a couple of other examples of what went on in his jails: https://t.co/lX0xV7dyNg
— PhoenixNewTimes (@phoenixnewtimes) August 26, 2017
— PhoenixNewTimes (@phoenixnewtimes) August 26, 2017
— PhoenixNewTimes (@phoenixnewtimes) August 26, 2017
He ran an ongoing “mugshot of the day” contest on the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office website. https://t.co/n9hyv0u6Xd
— PhoenixNewTimes (@phoenixnewtimes) August 26, 2017
He had a reporter arrested.
He arrested New Times reporters for covering him. We won a $3.75 million settlement for that one. https://t.co/tB97Xtg5ig
— PhoenixNewTimes (@phoenixnewtimes) August 26, 2017
Under him, the MCSO failed to investigate hundreds of sex abuse cases, many of which involved children.https://t.co/CdsU0p9dZo
— PhoenixNewTimes (@phoenixnewtimes) August 26, 2017
The cruel former sheriff has a lot in common with the Birther-in-Chief.
But he somehow found time and money to send a deputy to Hawaii to look for Barack Obama’s birth certificate. https://t.co/lVX595OVmX
— PhoenixNewTimes (@phoenixnewtimes) August 26, 2017
Oh, and one time he staged an assassination attempt against himself? That was weird. https://t.co/KboxuTwYXe
— PhoenixNewTimes (@phoenixnewtimes) August 26, 2017
In 2013, a federal judge confirmed what literally everyone in Phoenix knew: he’d been racially profiling Latinos. https://t.co/2uYZLMdnwt
— PhoenixNewTimes (@phoenixnewtimes) August 26, 2017
Then he had the judge and his wife investigated.
So naturally, he hired a PI to investigate the judge and his wife. https://t.co/e7Nf01R7vn
— PhoenixNewTimes (@phoenixnewtimes) August 26, 2017
He also kept on profiling people, which is why he got charged with contempt of court (and was found to be guilty AF) https://t.co/PycurAtivk
— PhoenixNewTimes (@phoenixnewtimes) August 26, 2017
He also tried to destroy some of the hard drives containing material that was supposed to be turned over the court. https://t.co/XKgR3SDWXd
— PhoenixNewTimes (@phoenixnewtimes) August 26, 2017
By 2015, his fondness for racial profiling had cost the county more $44 million. On top of, you know, ruining lives. https://t.co/zlLg6kCsUf
— PhoenixNewTimes (@phoenixnewtimes) August 26, 2017
He also paid millions to settle lawsuits like this one, where deputies stood by as an inmate was brutally beaten. https://t.co/WppUM1vPOs
— PhoenixNewTimes (@phoenixnewtimes) August 26, 2017
Because this is the Old West or something, he had a “Sheriff’s Posse.” One member got arrested on child porn charges https://t.co/FJosPbsdke
— PhoenixNewTimes (@phoenixnewtimes) August 26, 2017
A puppy was set on fire.
His office was responsible for countless fiascos like this botched SWAT raid, where deputies set a puppy on fire. https://t.co/Gb7MS5zare
— PhoenixNewTimes (@phoenixnewtimes) August 26, 2017
So, yeah, that’s who Trump just pardoned. You can read all our coverage of Arpaio over the years here: https://t.co/7JkmOEVPWW
— PhoenixNewTimes (@phoenixnewtimes) August 26, 2017
Trump also thinks Sheriff David Clarke Jr. is a cool dude. He’s not, but Trump promoted his book on Twitter this morning, calling him a “great guy.”
“A great book by a great guy, highly recommended!” he tweeted.
A great book by a great guy, highly recommended! https://t.co/3jbDDN8YmJ
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 27, 2017
Terrill Thomas, a 38-year-old black man died of thirst in Clarke’s Milwaukee County Jail cell last year. Thomas’s death was ruled as a homicide. Clarke Jr. has said that Black Lives Matter “is a terrorist movement,” and calls it, Black LIES Matter.” If David Clarke played a role in Django Unchained, you know which character he’d be perfect for.
These two awful men are Trump’s ‘patriots.’
Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images.
